The Alabama baseball team held its first spring practice on Tuesday afternoon, exactly a month before the season starts on Feb. 13. Here’s what we learned from the first practice of the spring.
“So excited to be back,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “I think the guys look like they’re in a pretty good spot. We’ll find out pretty quick, but the guys put the work in this offseason and are ready to go. So we’ll be here in a month and be doing this thing for real.”
Redshirt junior Tyler Fay and junior Zane Adams will be the Crimson Tide’s Friday and Saturday starting pitchers, but there is still competition to be the Sunday starter. Vaughn mentioned four names who could be in play for that Sunday spot: junior Matthew Heiberger, redshirt junior Austin Morris, and freshmen Myles Upchurch and Luke Smyers.
Vaugh referred to Upchurch and Smyers as “young budding superstars,” and expects them to be a key part of the Crimson Tide’s starting rotation next year when Fay and Adams leave for the MLB draft. Vaughn also said he would not be shocked if Upchurch or Smyers end up with the final weekend rotation spot.
Vaughn also mentioned a couple of dark-horse pitchers who could be in play for the final rotation spot, such as senior JT Blackwood, redshirt senior Bobby Alcock, and redshirt senior Hagan Banks.
“There are a ton of guys that I think could start any of the three days,” Fay said. “And I think it’s been really fun, the competition side of it, especially with Zane and me. Every time we throw a bullpen, we’re texting each other about how hard we’re throwing or what our stuff looked like. So I think it’s kind of fun having five or six guys, in my opinion, that can fill that role.”
On Dec. 9, it was announced via Alabama baseball’s social media that redshirt junior catcher Will Plattner will be the team’s captain and will wear No. 3, a tradition Vaughn started when he arrived in Tuscaloosa.
“This has kind of been a full circle moment for me,” Plattner said. “Stepping on campus here for the first time, my sophomore year, and kind of figuring out what the program was about, everything aligned with what I believe in a program. And seeing the guys ahead of me do it, I’m just really excited that I’m able to represent this university.”
Vaughn gave a clearer picture of what the starting infield will look like, saying that if the season started today, the Purdue Fort Wayne transfer junior Justin Osterhouse would be the starting third baseman. This allows senior Jason Torres, who played third last year, to slide over to first base, where he primarily played at Miami before transferring to Alabama.
“I think when you have an elite first baseman, it makes all your other infielders a lot better,” Vaughn said of Torres.
Superstar Justin Lebron will be the everyday shortstop yet again this year, but the rest of the infield is interchangeable, as Torres has the ability to slide back to third, and Osterhouse can play second base.
D1 Baseball released its preseason top 25 teams on Monday, and 11 of the 16 SEC teams were in the top 25, but Alabama was not one of them. However, this is familiar territory for Vaughn, as last year’s preseason SEC coaches poll had Alabama ranked No. 13 in the SEC, but the team then climbed as high as No. 8 in D1 Baseball’s top 25.
“That team last year, when they were ranked 13th in the preseason by the coaches and not ranked in any poll, man, they responded the way you should respond to that, and they said, ‘Watch this,’” Vaughn said.
Still, a lot can change between now and opening day on Feb. 13, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. CT at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
